ASAI Miami Conference

As an illustrator, my disposition is naturally reclusive. I do my best to meet and greet people at various social networking events around town and build our business, but I'm never 100% comfortable being thrown into a loud drunken setting with a crowd of sharply (and sometimes not) dressed strangers. On that note, I'm glad Krystal is here to cover me.

This weekend, the American Society of Architectural Illustrators held its annual conference at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa. I gladly attended, and was surprised to meet a group of strangely reclusive and dorky people. Never before, have I felt so comfortable around strangers as we joked about different sizes of sketchbooks and exchanged contact information. Since I was the youngest member in attendance, everyone gifted tons of advice to me as someone starting out in the business, and everyone was impressed with my sketches (I filled half a book in one month).

On Friday, I learned some tricks of the trade and how to make Japanese Ukiyo e prints. The group reviewed the Society's mission statement, and it seems that many of the older folks feared the transition to a digital age of drawing and questioned the relevance of our profession. I don't think digital drawings are something to be afraid of. Even though everyone can do it, only a few remarkable people can do it well. The only difference between the computer and traditional media is that computer drawings have no well-established precedent. It's a shame that younger generations are forgetting about the classic works of Wyeth, Homer, Hopper, etc in exchange for the machine. On the other hand, digital media like scanners, printers, and photoshop allow traditional artists to produce, copy, alter, and reproduce their hand-drawn work faster than ever. So a well-practiced professional using traditional media still has the advantage.

On Saturday morning, there was a sketch tour of Vizcaya, and everyone there- 39 people from out of state- was shocked that it could rain so much in Miami. On top of that, nobody wore sunscreen. Needless to say, by 3pm, the poor artists who remained at the mansion were burnt and dehydrated.

It was nice, however, to finally be around people who love drawing as much as I do. Unlike my peers at the University when I was in Undergrad for Architecture, these folks had no quams about sharing their drawings and critiquing the works of others as a friendly gesture. My fellow students used to think I was so full of myself when I would stand back and check a drawing for potential improvements.

Enough talk. Here are some of the sketches from that day:

I rushed to beat the storm as I pursued this very loose painting of the gazebo on the bay. When the rain fell hard, illustrators swiftly jammed their brushes and paints inside their funny little bags and ran for cover so their pages wouldn't bleed with a myriad of staining colors. Being from Miami, I was the only one with an umbrella.

I sat with David Csont as I knocked out this very overworked sketch of the back of the house. He works on two paintings at once and finished both of them as I finished this one. I'm known for being fast, and I'll take note of his strategy for next time to improve my speed.

I have a lot of catching up to do.

-Brian